The present invention relates to devices for taking hard tissue or soft tissue biopsy specimens.
Biopsies are taken when a small tissue specimen is required for examination, e.g., by a pathologist, particularly in cases where cancer is suspected.
More than one million tissue (hard and soft) biopsies are presently performed each year in the United States. Soft tissue biopsies are performed by surgeons of all specialties as well as by some oncologists. Hard tissue (bone) biopsies are performed primarily by three types of physicians: orthopaedic surgeons, oncologists (usually orthopaedic), and radiologists. Although the vast majority of all biopsies performed are of soft tissue biopsies, the number of bone biopsies has been growing rapidly over the past few years. Biopsies are used in both human and veterinary medicine.